


Steak, whiskey and a demon

by darkhedgeknight



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Demon, Halflings, Other, posession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 20:06:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19363378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkhedgeknight/pseuds/darkhedgeknight
Summary: The halfling Chazrael travels to the Vulcanmines to visit his favorite restaurant to find it closed. His inquiry leads him to battling a dangerous foe, all to get his favorite steak and whiskey.Note, this is a short story featuring my halfling character Chazrael Teadrinker.





	Steak, whiskey and a demon

Two things Chazrael Teadrinker liked more in the world than destroying demons and other vile monsters was a good steak and a glass of whiskey - and he was on a quest for both.

The halfling entered the dwarven city of Vulcanmines hours on his way home to Teadrinker Manor. He had enjoyed his visits to the city for as long as he could remember. In some ways he felt a kinship to the dwarven residents. He admired their passion and proficiency in stonework, not to mention their beards.

Chazrael had cultivated many memories from his travels, going back to his first visit to the city with his grandmother. Though he grew to two-and-a-half feet and a mustache covered his upper lip, he was as giddy as a child every time he passed known, and appropriately named, statues like the Fat Priest and the Slender Snake Fountain.

However, the one landmark that endured Vulcanmines to Chazrael was that it was home to Tuff Oboe’s Steak House, the best restaurant in the east region of Arwain.

Chazrael stared in the distance, making out the familiar dome structure and granite pillar embossed with the name. He brushed the thin layer of dust that caked his pants and leather jerkin and passing a pair of irritated dwarves who regarded him with a scowl and continued to whisper when they noticed him moving toward the restaurant. Chazrael paid them no attention as he assumed the pair were locals complaining about an issue with the city. Whether it was in a large town like Shadowbranch or a small settlement, it irritated him to see people angry about petty issues rather than focus on the evil placing the world.

As he approached the granite pillar and entrance of Tuff Oboe’s Steak House, he smiled as the faint aroma of butter and grilled beef tickled his nose. It was not just the food and drink Chazrael enjoyed. He also liked the owner Mulligan Oboestein, one of the hardest working men in the region, at least according to Chazrael.

“It won’t be long until I have a savory cut with a nice glass of whiskey,” he said as he reached the doorway and focused his attention on the obsidian statues, both modeled in the likeness of a burly, thick-bearded dwarf hoisting a large fork in his left hand and a steak in his right.

“I salute you good sir,” Chazrael said as reached for the door handle and turned, only to find it locked.

Chazrael tried turning the handle twice before shaking it. He glanced at the window next to the door and tried to peak past the cloth covering the opening before going back to the handle.

“What is the meaning of this?” he growled before setting down his bow and quiver. Chazrael continued to pull on the door, gritting his teeth as the stone barely moved. He stopped once as the echo of unsheathed swords and gruff cries came from over his shoulder.

Chazrael stood over his bow and quiver and turned as two barrel-chested guards, one woman and one man, stood  front of him. “That’s breaking and entering!” the man cried, inching toward the halfling intruder.

“What is your business?” the woman asked as Chazrael slowly retrieved his bow, only to get a poke in the gut.

“You see, I came to have a quarter-pound porter and glass of Ironfleks Whiskey, like I always do when I visit your fine city,” Chazrael answered. “Why is this restaurant closed? Is Mulligan sick? Has he left for a vacation?”

Both dwarves sighed as they stared solemnly at the restaurant entrance before turning back to Chazrael. “Aye, Tuff Oboe’s has been closed for weeks. Viceroy Tnylf came down with a sickness after eating from here and he ordered it closed,” the officer said in her shrill voice. “It won’t be open until there is an investigation.”

“A pity, I liked eating there,” added the other guard.  

“I do as well, and so do many others,” Chazrael said, shaking his head and retrieving his weapon and ammunition. “Tuff Oboe’s is a staple of Vulcanmines. People come here from afar to eat here. Where is Mulligan now?”

“Mulligan is at the palace, speaking to Viceroy Tnylf,” the male guard began. “We can take you -“ he stopped as Chazrael moved past him.

“I know where I am going,” spat Chazrael.

*******

Chazrael entered the palace doors, ignoring the bewildered guards shouting and chasing him, and power-walked toward the throne where he saw Mulligan yelling at a cloaked figure on the throne. Mulligan had not changed in years, Chazrael thought, as the restaurant owner wore his sky-blue silk apron and colored shirt. The He turned to the viceroy on the throne, noting milk-like skin and bristly goatee that hung from his jaw.

Although he had met the Tnylf during a couple of his visits to Vulcanmines, Chazrael remembered the dwarf being more vibrant, muscular and healthy.

The viceroy’s eyes snapped toward Chazrael, holding up his hand to silence Mulligan. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked in a low growl.

Chazrael felt one of the guards grab his arm. “You may want to rethink that move,” he responded before turning his attention back to the throne. “I was seeking Mulligan and wanted to ask him about the closure of Tuff Oboe,” he answered. He smiled as the faint smell of cooked meat emerged from the sulfur odor that filled the room.

“You see, Tnylf, another customer has come to complain,” Mulligan said, his drawl echoing through the chamber. “If you would just let me inspect my restaurant and dispose of the expired meat, I can get the restaurant running again. I will even throw in a free meal for all of the guards.”  

Tnylf’s blistered left hand emerged from the cloak. “I would sooner consume vomit then have my men eat at that place.

Chazrael watched Mulligan spit in Tnylf’s direction before turning and muttering curses that would make his grandmother blush. After the restaurant owner was gone, he took another step toward the Tnylf until he felt the tips of spears on his back.

“You should leave halfling,” Tnylf warned as he sniffed the air and his scarlet eyes flared at Chazrael. “Teadrinker.

Chazrael glanced behind the throne and watched the viceroy’s elongated shadow rise against the wall.

“Viceroy or not, I don’t like to be threatened,” Chazrael whispered before he left to follow Mulligan.

******

Mulligan sighed as Chazrael reached him. “As fiery as ever I see,” Chazrael said “You know, I was hoping to get a steak and a glass of Ironfleks whiskery before I left.”

“And you want to know why it is closed?” Mulligan asked him. “Chazrael, I had hoped to send word to your grandmother before you came. The viceroy shut down my restaurant several days ago, for what reason I do not know. He used to come in all of the time, and tipped my servers well.”

“Where are your servers?” Chazrael interrupted. “I did not see Bardle, Chops and Tton, or anyone near the restaurant.”

Mulligan shook his head once more. “Some have left the city to find work elsewhere. The ones who stayed refuse to go back to the building because the viceroy threatened them.”

Chazrael leaned close and asked,” What do you mean he threatened them?”

“One of my servers claimed they saw the viceroy in their dreams, threatening to hurt them,” Mulligan answered. “Another said he was going to take away their daughter.”

“Do you think he has done this?” Chazrael asked, remembering the shadow in the throne room. “Do you think he is capable of hurting them?”

“You saw how sickly he appeared,” Mulligan answered. “He may need help getting around the palace, but no one has seem him anywhere else in Vulcanmines.”

“And you say he has changed,” Chazrael said.“If he could hurt your servers, it would not be under his own power. I wager he has been possessed by a spirit.”

“A spirit?” Mulligan asked as he and Chazrael continued down the street.

Chazrael nodded as he gestured to a pair of guards at the entrance. “We should speak of his later at the Steak House.”

Mulligan watched the guards before turning to Chazrael and motioning to the direction of the restaurant.

*****

Chazrael stepped into Tuff Oboe’s Steak House as the smell of whiskey and meat tickled his nose. He noted the various sketches of the Steak House’s customers across the wall and found the one of himself when he first came to the restaurant as a boy.

Mulligan sighed placed a blue whiskey glass on an empty table. “That used to belong to Tnylf, it was his favorite glass. Any drink he would buy, we would make sure we poured it into that glass.”

Chazrael retrieved it and examined the small Ts along the rim. He asked Mulligan,” May I keep this?”

“Go ahead, Tnylf is not coming for it any time soon,” Mulligan replied as he opened a crate and stocked his shelves with glasses. “If you want to make yourself useful, you can help me with the whiskey,” he said pointing to a closet.

Chazrael nodded as he opened the door and grabbed a barrel before glancing at the cellar’s broken door.

“I’ve been meaning to get that fixed,” Mulligan said, following Chazrael’s gaze. “If you want, you can grab another barrel from the cellar.”

Chazrael treaded quietly into the cellar and scanned the area, his fingers cobwebs and sacks of vegetables. “Where is the steak?” he asked. “There is no meat here.”

“Ever since Tnylf shut me down, I have cancelled all meat.” Chazrael heard from above. He walked over to a small hole in the wall and began scraping the stone until he found a scrap of cloth. He winced as the faint smell of blood and sulfur tickled his nose while reading the text. “Rougal possesses the darkness, what can we do?”

“Are you going to bring up that whiskey?” Mulligan asked from the top of the stairs.

Chazrael found a bone fragment in the hole and brushed away the dust, revealing tiny etchings of white horns drawn in chalk. Turning to Mulligan, he presented the piece of paper. “Who is Rougal?”

Mulligan took the piece of paper and read it before closing his eyes. “ Rougal, that was the name of a spirit the monks mentioned when I bought this place?”

Chazrael nodded. “I remember one of the servers telling me Tuff Oboe used to be a monastery before you turned it into a restaurant.

“I had the priests blessed the structure after I bought it,” Mulligan said as he led Chazrael up the stairs. “One comes to bless the building every month. He has not come by yet.”

“We may need to speak to the the priest about this,” Chazrael said before noticing the viceroy’s guards in the doorway.  

“This building is supposed to be closed,” one guard said before handing Chazrael a letter.

Mulligan growled and snatched the paper as other guard said, “This building is responsible for making the viceroy sick and poses a threat to the residents of Vulcanmines.”

Chazrael grabbed a dagger before Mulligan placed a hand over his, shaking his head. As they followed the guards outside, Chazrael pointed at the tiny holes in both guards’ breastplates. “Gentlemen, it seems you new armor, there are holes in what you currently wear.”

The taller guard whipped back his stringy beard. “The viceroy demanded we remove all religious symbols from our amor to make us more accessible to Vulicanmine residents and visitors. Not all dwarves believe in the Golden Hammer.”

Chazrael smiled and pointed back at the armor. “And what do you worship?”

Before Chazrael received an answer, the shorter guard slapped his comrade. “Do not answer that, you know Leeroy was discharged for answering such a question.” The guard turned back to Chazrael and Mulligan. “The building will remain vacant.”

As the guards left, Chazrael turned to Mulligan,” Who is Leeroy?”

“He was the priest who would come and bless the restaurant,” Mulligan answered. “I had heard rumors Tnylf let him go.” He grabbed Chazrael’s arm and walked down the street. “Follow me, I will lead you to him.”

******

Chazrael peeked through the window of the house where Mulligan brought him and saw a dwarf hunched on the floor. He left his perch and pulled on the door, prompting Mulligan to ask,” What are you doing?”

“Something is wrong,” Chazrael replied, kicking the door open and rushing to the occupant covered in scratches and torn clothes.

“Leeroy!” Mulligan shouted when Chazrael saw turn over his friend’s body. He pushed Chazrael aside and touched Leeroy’s cold skin. “Help me move him -“ he stopped as a trio of shadowy tendrils seep from Leeroy’s wound and snapped at his face.

Chazrael watch Mulligan smack one to the floor before drawing two daggers and swiping them at the other two tendrils, missing one and hitting the other.  

The tendrils fired back, slapping Chazrael’s face while Mulligan grabbed a broken cup and swung wildly at them. Chazrael drove both daggers into the tendrils, causing a shriek to fill the room. He flinched as the tendrils withdrew into the priest. The halfling stabbed at Leeroy’s corpse, causing Mulligan to shout and curse at the halfling.

“He’s already dead, it doesn’t matter,” Chazrael answered before grabbing a small hammer on a chair and striking Leeroy’s face.

Mulligan was about to rake Chazrael when her friend’s corpse shot forward and expelled the tendrils onto the floor. Chazrael struck the tendrils once more, causing them to dissipate. “I am sorry about your friend,” he said to Mulligan. “You will need to burn the body.”

Mulligan’s eyes flared and he began to shout at the halfling in his native tongue.

Chazrael ignored the dwarf’s threats and walked out of the house. “You just can’t tell me to burn his body, and where are you going?” Mulligan asked from the doorway.

“Those tendrils are wail worms,” Chazrael said as he handed Mulligan a dagger. “Demons use those to control the bodies of humans they kill. Those things disappeared into Leeroy’s body and they will reanimate his body. You have two choices, burn Leeroy’s body or keep stabbing him every time he comes back. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Mulligan glanced back at Leeroy and swore it moved. He turned to Chazrael and said,” I take it you are going to see Tnylf.

“I am,” Chazrael grinned. “He and I need to have a chat.”

*****

Avoiding the guards, Chazrael approached the palace from the side and entered through one of the open windows. He grunted when after slamming hie feet on the floor, and pushed the pain aside to move up the stairs and into an open door.

Chazrael approached the viceroy’s hunched body over a wide oaken desk. Tnylf’s lips twisted in a gleeful smirk before sniffing the air.

Chazrael drew a dagger and stepped toward Tnylf as the viceroy contorted his body to face the intruder.  

“Tnylf, or should I call you Rugel?” asked Chazrael as the viceroy slinked toward him. “I found your hole at Tuff Oboe’s. You’ve used to the viceroy’s body and influence to kill Leeroy before he could bless the restaurant or tell Mulligan.”

Tnylf’s eyes flared red, his face stretching vertically. “Most mortals recoil when they approach a demon, especially halflings,” a gurgled dark, deep voice from the viceroy’s lips. “You are correct, my name is Rugal, I am a demon from the First Circle who was trapped here years ago. I had come to the Vulcanmines when the kingdom was first established by the earliest dwarves monarchs. I managed to corrupt them before servants of the Golden Hammer came and sealed me in the building’s foundation.”

Chazrael noted how the demon spat at the name of the dwarves deity. He locked eyes with the viceroy, who was inches away from his face. “I spoke to the viceroy over the course of years as he visited the building for his feasts and dinners, promising him safety for his city. When the time was right, I had him free me and possessed his body. I did what I could to conceal my presence. You are correct, I had the priest fired from the guard and killed him in his own home.”

“But why would you stay here?” asked Chazrael, sliding the blade across his hand. “The mountains are a confined place, you want your chaos to spread.”

“You demon hunters think you know everything about us,” Tnylf snorted. “There are many opportunities for my venom to spread. Vulcanmines will be destroyed before any priests and clerics know I was released. And I will be gone before then.”

“I don’t think I can allow that,” Chazrael said as he lunged at the viceroy, who barely dodged the attack.

“Guards, an intruder!” Rugal shouted in Tnylfs’ voice as the halfling plunged his weapon into his chest.

The viceroy grinned once more as he stepped away from Chazrael, rubbing his fingers along the wound. His smile turned into a painful frown as the guards entered the room. “This man attacked me, I want him executed, immediately.”

“Gentlemen, that is not your viceroy, it is a demon -“ Chazrael stopped as one guard swiped his short sword across his stomach. He barely dodged the second attack before driving his shoulder into his opponent.

The halfling stepped back and delivered a right hook into the second guard’s jaw before the other caught him with a swipe across his back.

Chazrael stumbled over as the guard from behind held him while the other drew his blade.

“His name is Rugal,” Chazrael growled as he shot forward and drove his head into the guard’s chest, then elbowed the one in the back. The halfling grabbed a vial from his belt and tossed it at the viceroy. Tnylf screeched as the glass broke and his skin bublled and burned.

“Give up the viceroy’s body, Rugal!” Chazrael said as he dropped Tnylf with jab to his jaw.

Several guttural growls escaped from the viceroy’s body as Chazrael quickly pulled another vial and poured it down the viceroy’s throat.

Tnlyf pushed the halfling away, spitting black smoke in his face before darting away. The viceroy rose to his feet, his skin dripping from his face and his glowing eyes staring at Chazrael. The halfling heard the guards shuffled from behind as he dodged a dagger from his front.

Chazrael pulled a small piece of parchment and started to recite a prayer before the viceroy lunged at him. He twisted his face away from Tnylf’s peeling skin as Rugal’s laughter escaped from the viceroy’s lips. “Fool, that language will not work on me.”

The viceroy’s body darted out of the room and leapt from the window at the end of the hallway. Chazrael turned to the guards once more before following the possessed viceroy. As he reached the window, Tnylf’s form floated through the streets and into the west - the direction of Tuff Oboe’s.

Chazrael turned to one of the guards and pointed to the bow and quiver. “Can I borrow those?”

The guard handed the weapon and ammunition to the halfling and watched him flee the castle.

**********

Chazrael arrived at the Tuff Oboe’s to find the door broken in shambles and two walking corpses shambling toward him. Before the zombies could move, Chazrael knocked an arrow and fired it into the corpse’s knees, causing it to crumble to the ground.

As he stepped through the doorway, Chazrael noticed the drawings were ripped from the walls. He crept down the stairs and walked into the cellar open where the viceroy’s body floated above the hole where he found the paper.  

The halfling moved to the side as the viceroy tossed a barrel in his direction. Before the viceroy could raise another barrel, Chazrael drew an arrow and fired, watching it plunge through the chest. As Tnylf slowly descended, Chazrael fired another arrow next to his first one.

“You’ll have no choice but to kill the viceroy,” Rugal said as Chazrael drew another arrow.

“I suppose you’re right,” Chazrael began as he fired and hit the wall, causing a small chunk to drop on the floor. A thin veil of light shot from the wall and blinded the possessed viceroy. Chazrael began to chant in the dwarfish tongue, causing the light to burn brighter.

Chazrael broke his chant and he turned to the viceroy. “You have to fight this Tnylf,” he began. “Mulligan said you love this steak house and this monster is trying to make you destroy it and your city.”

The viceroy’s body began to twist and contort before he screamed. Tnylf’s eyes glowed red, Chazrael produced the viceroy’s whiskey glass he had taken from upstairs.

“You remember this?” Chazrael asked. “Mulligan told me this belonged to you, it was your favorite glass. Fight this demon and we can share a steak together.”

Tnylf screamed again and threw himself to the floor. A trail of smoke flew from the viceroy’s body and swirled around the halfling before floating above the stone. Chazrael helped the viceroy and checked on his body as the cloud formed into a big-belled bi-pedal pig.

Chazrael sighed in relief as he felt a faint pulse from the viceroy’s neck before turning to the creature before him. “So you show yourself,” he said, knocking an arrow as the demon drew his large club.

“I will break you -“ Rugal cried as Chazrael fired an arrow into the weapon, blinding him with light. As Rugal dropped his weapon, another arrow pierced his neck, filling him with sharp pain.

“I will not forget this,” Rugal said before he vanished. “I will hunt you.”

“A demon hunting a demon hunter,” Chazrael chuckled before he turned back to the viceroy, whose eyes fluttered.

The halfling brought Tnylf to his feet, wiping away the trails of blood. “Hello viceroy, my name is Chazrael.”

Tnylf frowned as he scanned the cellar at the broken barrels and whiskey spilled on the floor.

“It’s a story, let us discuss the matter over a drink,” Chazrael answered as they walked up the stairs and into the lobby. Tears began to flow down Tnylf’s cheek as he walked and cradled the torn pieces of paper. Chazrael smiled as he handed him his blue whiskey glass and poured him a shot of Ironfleks.

*********

Chazrael smiled as Mulligan placed a thick steak in front of him and handed him a bottle of Ironfleks. He watched the guards cleaned the debris and papers from the Steak House’s lobby while others were in the cellar, cleaning the broken barrels.

The halfling sniffed the sweet smell before turning to Mulligan. “I don’t feel right taking this for free.”

“It is the least I can do for you helping me,” answered Mulligan. “Besides, this is the last steak served at Tuff Oboe’s for awhile. I will be going on vacation.

Chazrael stopped his fork and knife mid-air. “What will happen to the restaurant?”

“The viceroy is having priests come and bless the restaurant,” said Mulligan. “They will watch over it while I am gone.”

“I suppose I will have to wait until my next visit to Vulcanmines for another steak.”

Mulligan shook his head. “Is that all you care about?” Before Chazrael could answer nod, the dwarf set a large pack on the table. Chazrael smiled as he opened the pack with four large steaks wrapped in salt-packages, and the largest bottle of Ironfleks he had seen.

“It’s so beautiful,” Chazrael said, wiping a tear before closing the pack and digging into the steak in front of him.


End file.
